Win Christmas: How To Cook The Best Holiday Ham

1. Before you start: know there are different types of ham

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Not all hams are created equally. Here are the three most common:

Prepared Ham/City Ham

These are the most common hams and can be purchased at your local supermarket. Biggest bonus--these are super simple to prepare (they're already cooked!). If you're lucky enough to be near a smokehouse, make sure to place an order 3-4 weeks before your dinner. Look for a spiral-sliced variety for the easiest carving experience.

These are often smoked or cured and only require a little glaze before baking.

Fresh Ham

These are uncooked and not prepared--you'll have to do a little more prep for a tasty experience. Think of these as the ham equivalent of your Thanksgiving turkey.

Country Ham

Salt-cured, air-dried, and smoked, country ham is a flavor experience. It's the American interpretation of an Italian prosciutto. If you opt for one of these, they make stellar flavor additions to greens or grits and make fabulous biscuit fillers the next morning.

8. Score your ham

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If your ham isn't pre-sliced or spiral sliced, you need to score the skin of the ham. This allows the glaze to penetrate into the ham, but also opens up the interior of the ham to the heat of the oven.

9. Don't glaze too early

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Glazing the ham too early leads to a sad, dry ham with little delicious flavor. Bake your ham most of the way (target ~120 degrees F interior temp). Crank up the oven temperature to 425 degrees F and brush the ham with your glaze of choice. Bake for 10 minutes. Glaze again and place under broil until the skin is crisp (but not burnt!).